


Adoption's An Option

by Texan_Red_Rose



Category: RWBY
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Children, F/F, Nonbinary Character, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-07 08:19:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17362403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Texan_Red_Rose/pseuds/Texan_Red_Rose
Summary: Forced into taking leave from her military duties, Winter volunteers to help her sister out by vetting an orphanage for charitable donations from the SDC. Her best friend, Terry, comes along in an attempt to ensure she relaxes but they won't have much luck in that department. At least, not until Winter meets the woman who runs the orphanage.





	Adoption's An Option

The airship bounced through turbulence, rousing Winter from her nap. She blinked hard, trying to gather her bearings and glancing out through the window to the shimmering sea below. Frankly, she disliked commercial travel, especially in airships, but she couldn't rightly take her issued airship on leave. Although her rank granted an impressive amount of leeway within the Atlas military, it didn't extend much further than that, and especially not across the sea to the kingdom of Vale. Which meant she had to act as a civilian might while on her forced vacation.

"This is absolutely ridiculous." Her gaze slid from the window to her companion, who was presently struggling to open a packet of salted pretzels. "Who goes on leave just to do more work?"

"It's hardly work," she replied, reaching over and grabbing the packet from Terry's hands, ripping it open with ease. They'd always been just as uneasy with flying as her, though they didn't always hide it as well. "I'm doing my sister a favor."

"Flying to another kingdom to personally vet a charity for funding is _hardly_ a favor." They silently accepted the pretzels back and munching on them. "You could've gone to a resort instead."

"You didn't have to come at all, I'll remind you." Winter crossed her arms over her chest. "Though... thank you for accompanying me. It wasn't necessary."

"This is the first time you've taken leave in almost three years, and you're _still_ working during it." A heavy sigh and a shake of their head. "I'm here to make sure you actually take some time to _relax_. Commander's orders."

A low groan. "Which is code for you're planning on dragging me to some godawful bar in the hopes I'll agree to a date with someone."

Truly, she wished her best friend and occasional supervisor would be a little less concerned with her personal life, especially the romantic portion. If she hadn't sought out a companion thus far in her life, she likely didn't need one, and trying to forge a relationship amid the ever changing landscape of military life seemed a fool's errand at best.

"I take my best friend duties very seriously. And, if you'd rather _not_ go to a bar, then at least give me something to work with." They reached forward, detaching the complimentary scroll with CCT access. "What are you looking for in a partner?"

"I'm not _looking_ for a partner in the first place." She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, a sigh slipping past her lips. "But, you're going to badger me until I answer, aren't you?"

"That's the plan."

"Fine." Winter mulled the question over, thinking long and hard before speaking. "If you _must_ know, what I would prize most in a partner is an affinity and prowess in the areas I... considerably lack."

"Oh, be still my beating heart, the great Winter Schnee admitting fallibility." Putting a hand to their chest, they drew back in mock shock, then cracked a smile at Winter's thoroughly unamused stare. "Continue."

With a roll of her eyes, she continued, already regretting the words falling from her lips. "What I _mean_ is... I'd actually rather like a family, but my own upbringing has made the idea of having children... daunting, to say the least."

Terry put a hand on her shoulder, silently offering comfort. Her family remained a sore spot, regardless of the improved relationship with Weiss, but the idea of starting a new family, independent of that legacy but capable of restoring honor to it... she didn't entertain the idea often yet it made her smile softly every time it came up.

"Okay, so, good with kids. That's a start." Their fingers tapping along the screen, though she couldn't imagine what they might be doing. Probably taking some manner of notes.

"And, I'd prefer it if it wasn't a, well, either-or situation, where only one of us provides and the other other cares for the children." Her expression and tone softened slightly, a little grin curling her lips. "I want to be able to interact with my offspring better than my parents did with me. I think that's a big part of being a good parent... and I just... recognize I may need help with that."

"Sounds like you're looking for a teacher." Terry pointed out, looking away from the screen.

"In practice if not in title- just, someone who is willing to help me better myself in these areas without-"

"Without lording it over your head." Her friend finished, offering a sympathetic pat to her shoulder before returning their attention to the screen in front of them. "So, a kind, empathetic, patient, teacher-like figure with a strong parental instinct. I'm assuming a lady, correct?"

"Of course," she replied, clearing her throat in lieu of the 'obviously' she felt tempted to tack on at the end, purely because of the redundancy of the question.

"Right." Terry made a noise of triumph. "Ah, it finally connected, now... hmmm... by the way, I never did ask specifics. Which charity are we flying half way across the world to visit?"

"The Dragon's Den Orphanage on Patch." Closing her eyes, she opted for a bit more rest even through the questions. "Weiss wants to ensure it's the sort of place that a charitable donation from the SDC could assist and not be squandered away by some greedy founder looking to abuse the system." A frustrated sigh. "She's learned her lesson from last time."

"At least she took them to court over it." A bit of shifting. "And, uh, sorry for jumping around a bit, just took a while to pull up the... email... anyway, have you given any thoughts to this hypothetical partner's appearance?"

"I'm not sure what you're implying," she said, feeling the desire to sleep gnawing at the back of her mind.

"A kind, empathetic, patient, teacher-like mom figure, a few inches shorter than you with a crooked smile who could probably bench press the both of us over her head with ease, yay or nay?"

Winter's eyes blinked open as she cast a curious look at her friend. "That's both oddly specific and, frankly, as close to ideal as I can imagine. So, yay? Where did that description come from?"

Terry shrugged, apparently sending off an email and replacing the scroll. "Oh, I just... took what I know about you and made some educated guesses, that's all. You've always been a fan of gym rats."

"That's not a very flattering term for people who simply wish to improve their physique." She rolled her eyes and settled back into her seat. "If you set me up on a blind date, I'll disown you."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Something about their voice... it sounded far too pleased considering her refusal to buy into this ridiculous search for a partner she didn't even want.

Then again, hardly anything Terry did made sense to some extent, and yet worked out for the best half the time. Part of their charm stemmed from a nigh impervious ability to correctly guess which action to take.

If she didn't know any better, she might call it the demon's luck.

* * *

Winter pressed her lips into a thin line, regarding the building in front of her. Weiss hadn't provided her with any extra details about the Dragon's Den Orphanage and she hadn't made it a habit to visit local orphanages during her travels around Remnant but she _did_ have a specific mental image in mind when she heard the word. What stood before her... didn't exactly match up with that preconceived notion.

Terry opted to remain at the hotel room in the town proper, citing an affinity for the ocean view from their balcony, which left her alone to inspect the Dragon's Den. Frankly, she could use a second opinion right off the bat.

The building sat in a little clearing up a hill, well away from the island's biggest town. Made of wood and perhaps two stories, she could see where additions were tacked onto the existing structure, transforming a quaint little cottage out in the woods into a wooden mansion of sorts, with a small shed off to the side and what could potentially be a garage set just a bit further back, the beaten down grass a sign that whatever vehicle resided within hadn't been brought out in some time.

However, she could see the signs of children readily available- toys piled neatly under little lean-tos on the side of the building, a garden that had many straight rows and quite a few that were obviously planted by someone much less skilled, and every now and again she could hear the shout or laughter of a tiny voice coming from within, drifting out through the half open windows.

On the one hand, this could be a place in dire need of some financial assistance. On the other, it could also be a farce, trading on the tranquility and innocent looking facade to hide sinister motives.

Winter had only one way to find out, so she went to the front door and knocked. A muffled voice shouted, likely some manner of asking for a bit of time to get to the door, before it opened wide.

And, in that moment, she felt all the air in her lungs flee, struck dumb and breathless by the sight before her.

"Oh, hi! Welcome to the Dragon's Den Orphanage!" A wide, open, friendly smile and sparkling lilac eyes, blonde hair falling in unruly curled over chiseled shoulders, with a stubborn cowlick popping up over the top of her head that seemed to be the favored toy of a child about four years old currently sitting on her shoulders. A harness strapped to her chest held a newborn in place, big brown eyes looking around at everything but routinely going back to the half mixed batter in a bowl the woman held, tiny hands reaching for the spoon stuck into it. Two more children, perhaps eight, were firmly wrapped around each of the woman's legs, giggling to each other as she took a step back with little difficulty. "Can I help you?"

"I _dearly_ hope so," she replied, still a bit flabbergasted by the sight before her. The definition in the woman's arms, the frilly apron with 'I'M _SIZZLIN'!_ ' in big bold letters across the chest, the smear of flour on her cheek and crookedness of her smile- she'd never quite understood how movies and shows always fell back on the trope of a person being stunned into silence at the sight of another person but, now, she could. She _very much_ could. "I-I mean, I represent a corporation that's interested in making a charitable donation to your organization. Is... now a good time?"

"Well, we're making cookies, so if you give us a bit to put them in the oven, I can talk while they're cooking." Winter stepped through the door, which was bumped closed by a nudge from the woman's hip, somehow managing to keep her balance despite the kids hanging off her. "Name's Yang, by the way. I'm the, uh, founder and... whatever fancy term there is for 'person in charge'... honestly, I let Ruby take care of the paperwork, so she might be the better person to ask about technical questions. I just handle the caretaking and adoptions."

"I'm Winter- Winter Schnee."

"Wait, of the Atlas Schnees?" The woman chuckled, returning to mixing up the batter while walking stiffly towards the kitchen, keeping her legs straight so she wouldn't knock the little ones loose. They moved through the living room- with toys scattered about but kept clear of the walkway- and into the kitchen, where a few more kids a bit older than the ones hanging off their caretaker took turns throwing flour at each other. "Heh, guess I shouldn't be that surprised- hey, you three better be willing to clean that up! I mean it!" A fond chuckle slipped past her lips as she set the bowl down, watching as the children in question immediately began to protest being the one to instigate the flour fight. "I didn't ask who _started_ it; you all took part, so you're _all_ cleaning."

"But that's not fair!" A boy, perhaps ten, pointed at one of the others involved in the messy debacle. "She started it! You always said defending yourself is important!"

"From someone trying to cause you physical harm or tear down your character, yes, but not when they pelt you with flour." She pointed towards the sink. "Now clean yourselves up so we can get these cookies cookin'! You don't want them to stay as cookie dough, do you?" Immediately, she started wagging a finger, as the third child opened her mouth to speak. "No, Coco, you _can't_ just eat the cookie dough. We have to cook it."

"Can I at least lick the spoon?" Winter had to admit, she had _quite_ the adorable puppy dog expression, complete with big, round, pleading chestnut eyes. 

Yang hummed, appearing the think hard about it. "Okay, you can lick the spoon."

"Aw, I wanted to lick the spoon!"

"Only because _I_ wanted to first!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Fox, Coco, knock it off; we have company over." Yang nodded towards Winter. "And you can have some from the bowl, Fox." The third child seemed ready to open her mouth but, again, their caretaker seemed to sense the impending argument and sought to end it before it began. "But you have to share with Velvet."

"I _always_ have to share with her!"

"That's because Coco's always the first to _ask_." With a raised brow and a smirk, the blonde returned her attention to the bowl. "Now wash up and pick out the cookie cutters, or I'm letting Nora and Ren do it."

Immediately, the two children wrapped around her legs perked up, quite nearly leaving their posts.

 _That_ seemed to provide the three with enough motivation, heading over to wash their hands and faces and patting themselves free of _some_ of the flour.

"Sorry about that." Winter's gaze snapped to the woman as she reached up to dislodge the child from her shoulders. "Okay, Pyrrha, think you can go find Yatsu or James for me?"

"Uh huh." The little girl nodded vigorously before taking off in search of her targets.

"Hey! No running in the house!" A sigh slipped out as she muttered under her breath. "Sometimes, it's like herding cats."

"You seem rather adept at it." Winter looked around, noting the child-proof plastic locks on the cabinets and little notes pinned to them, urging for whoever wanted in to find an adult to help. "How long have you been running the orphanage?"

"Well, honestly, not as long as my business permit might say." She flashed a nervous smile. "I've really only had this place up and running for about five years. Before that, it was just me, Ruby, and Penny."

"And they are?" As the kids began to clamor over which cookie cutters to use, Yang turned to deliver a gentle, chiding remark on sharing the batter before running a hand through her hair.

"Well, they're my sisters, kinda. Ruby's my half sister and we found Penny digging through a dumpster in Vale when we were there for a family vacation. She's about Ruby's age, so we begged our Dad to let us bring her home- ya know, give her a place to stay. But, there wasn't any paperwork for her, so when Dad passed, I _somehow_ didn't have a precedent to apply for legal guardianship, even though she'd been living with us for years. As it turned out, applying to convert the family home into an orphanage was a lot easier than jumping through hoops to keep Penny here, so I started Dragon's Den." Lilac eyes darted towards the kids before drifting towards the back door as it opened. "Once they got old enough to help me out, we started taking in more kids. Hey, Yatsu."

A man almost Winter's height nodded, taking cautious, small steps as Pyrrha led the way, looking up at Yang with big green eyes. "I couldn't find James."

"Uh oh." She reached up to rub her temples. "If he's not outside, then he's with-" A loud crash echoed from somewhere else in the house. "- _them_. Yatsu, could you keep an eye on these six?"

"Is he your assistant?" Winter looked at the man, who seemed rather chagrined at her question.

"Nah, he's just my little helper. He's very mature for his age." Yang patted at his shoulder, favoring him with a kind smile. "It's alright, buddy. I _do_ appreciate the help." He nodded, turning his attention to the three kids still playfully fighting over the cookie cutters and lifting Pyrrha onto his shoulders. Meanwhile, Yang leaned in close and dropped the volume of her voice as they left the kitchen. "He's fifteen and been with us the longest. He's always been bigger than the other kids and it's... well, people usually mistake him for an adult or late teen, so him getting adopted is..."

"A long shot?" A frown tugged at her lips. "That's a shame. He seems very well mannered and responsible."

"Unfortunately, that's not always a good thing in this kind of situation." Shaking her head, she lead the way through the house, down a hallway and heading towards several voices shouting at each other. "Yatsuhashi's withdrawn further into his shell after every time prospective parents pass him over. It's really wearing on his self image and there's only so much I can do to repair that. He's always been polite but he hardly talks anymore. That makes it hard for him to make a good impression but he's an absolute sweetheart, really. James is in a similar position but, uh, he's... well... you'll see." Stopping in front of a door that seemed to contain whatever disaster had occurred, Yang looked down at the inquisitive infant strapped to her chest. "Alright, Jaune, be a good boy for me and _don't listen_." She gently put her hands over his ears. "Just go to a happy place."

Then she shouldered the door open, revealing a room in a fit of absolute chaos. Something metallic and gently smoking sat in one corner, having broken through the wood and drywall, while the smell of burnt _something_ filled the air. Scorch marks made a perfect circle not too far away, where the metal construct must've sat before being thrown into the wall, and five kids were in an array around the site of destruction. Two girls, probably around twelve, were against one wall, the one with green hair and worried red eyes holding back her counterpart with burning gold eyes and long black hair, while three boys- if she had to guess, the tall one was James, a late teenager, while the one with a shock of red hair and bull horns was around eight and the one with silver hair about twelve-  proceeded to have something of a fight, though an awkward one. The younger ones were trying to get at each other while the older boy stood between them, using whatever limb available to keep the two at distance, but where he had size, they had speed.

"Not again." Yang sighed, fully gaining the attention of everyone in the room with just those two words.

"He started it!"

"Mercury, enough." Lilac eyes scanned the room before landing on the girl with black hair. "Cinder? What was the plan _this_ time?"

The girl pouted, crossing her arms over her chest- though the other girl kept a hold on her. "I was building an oven."

"Which we already have." The woman drew in a deep breath. "But you wanted to bake a cake, right? Or something like that?"

Cinder shrugged, not meeting Yang's eyes, but Winter noted a few... interesting design properties and couldn't help but remark on them. "It looks more like a kiln than an oven for food."

Yang looked back at her a moment before returning her attention to the girl. "Is that what it was? Why would you try building a kiln?"

"Emerald can make really good sculptures, you know." Another shrug. "And adults seem to like creative things like that."

With a sigh, she bent over, trying to catch both girls' eyes. "You know that clay you find down by the river isn't the same sort people use for making sculptures though, right?"

"It was worth a try."

"I'm not saying it wasn't." She straightened up, turning her attention to the boys. "Now, which one of you got the red dust and from _where_?"

"I got the shit from school," Adam said, drawing a wince from Yang.

"Language! In front of the baby _and_ a guest, c'mon, Adam, we've talked about this!" Something about the tone of the woman's voice verged on pleading, as if she truly hated to broach the topic so often only for it to go unheeded.

He didn't seem keen on recognizing her predicament. "She's human; she wouldn't adopt me anyway."

Mercury lightly shoved him, which sparked another chiding remark even as James moved to intervene between any further physical contact between them. "Merc, knock it off, you're not off the hook, either."

"He's the reason none of us get adopted!"

Yang's eyes widened, obviously taken aback by the claim. "That's not-"

"No I'm not!"

"Yeah you are!"

Adam launched at Mercury again and James struggled to keep them apart, distress showing clear in his expression, while their caretaker obviously debated on how to take care of the baby _and_ stop the fight.

Winter had seen enough.

"Adam," she said, summoning her command voice and pointing to a spot directly beside her. "Come here."

"Miss Schnee-"

"I just want to talk to him." She could see Yang's unease plainly and didn't doubt she'd be bodily removed from the premises if she did anything the woman specifically objected to, but she had no plans to intentions any boundaries. Really- though it shouldn't- she couldn't help but think of the knuckleheads she'd trained beside all those years ago when she first enlisted. Hotheaded and looking for a fight- children and Privates had much in common, including methods of dealing with strife.

Although reluctant, the boy made his way over, crossing his arms over his chest and looking in any other direction, as she took a knee beside him.

"I suspect you know that stealing is wrong so let's focus on _why_ you stole dust in the first place."

"They needed it. It's what the art teachers use," he replied, still refusing to look her way.

"I see. Do you know how they use it?"

A weary sigh, as if he truly couldn't be bothered to answer her questions but did anyway to stay out of trouble. "They put it in a box and the box makes it into fire."

"Not quite." Winter held up her hands to pantomime a box, which earned Adam's attention. "The 'box' is actually a storage device." Then she held up her thumb and forefinger, about a centimeter apart. "From there, only a _small_ amount of dust is used at a time. Dust is a very dangerous material and too much of any type causes reactions ranging from explosions to hurricane force winds."

"Oh..." His defiance waned, eyes darting up to meet hers before looking down. "I... didn't know that."

"I'm aware; most people don't know the specific properties of dust or how dust operated machines work. My family simply produces most of them, so I've learned my fair share over the years. I also recognize that you were _trying_ to help." Her gaze shifted to Mercury briefly, who had the presence of mind to look suitably chagrined. "But someone could've gotten hurt. You need to understand that."

"I didn't _want_ to hurt anyone." His voice came out as a mumble she could barely parse. "I just... _do_..."

"The blame doesn't rest on your shoulders alone; everyone who thought to attempt this without informing Yang shares in the responsibility." The others exchanged guilty glances with each other and apologetic looks with their caretaker. "However, you alone stole the dust, so your punishment may be more severe for _that_ reason." She reached out and set a hand on his shoulder. "Wanting to help is good but you _must_ realize the dangers posed by your chosen method."

He nodded, though he kept his gaze on the ground.

Winter looked over at the woman, who seemed equal parts relieved and disappointed.

"Grounded for two days- no playtime, you'll do your homework and read in your room. The rest of you? One day- you, too, James. And I expect an apology from you, Mercury; that was _entirely_ uncalled for and you know it." Yang sighed, dragging a hand over her face. "I _know_ all of you want to find a family, but someone's going to get seriously hurt if you try something like this again." A frown touched her lips, expression falling slightly. "I can't bear that."

Shame showed plainly in their faces, shoulders sagging, and Winter simply couldn't abide that. "Chins up, all of you." That earned her everyone's attention. "Don't be ashamed when confronted with your mistakes; own them as the lessons they are. You learned many things today. If you turn away from them now, you're likely to repeat them later." Her expression softened slightly, lips curling into a small smile. "And I'm sure Yang feels bad enough having to ground you in the first place. She obviously just wants you to be safe. You don't have to be happy about it but she cares enough to drive the point home that this simply can't happen again. Endeavor to do better tomorrow. Understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am." They chorused, having straightened up throughout the course of her speech.

"Excellent." She made to stand up but found the sleeve of her jacket caught in a small but firm grip.

A frown tugged at Adam's lips. "You're not going to adopt any of us, are you?"

It... broke her heart a little. He sounded so sure- and he _was_ correct- but the look in his eyes, like he hoped he was wrong _just once_ , it killed her to see it.

"Adam, Miss Schnee is here for something else, but we've got a few families schedules for Saturday. I'm keeping my hopes up and you should, too." Yang forced a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, pulling her hands away from protecting the baby's ears entirely. "Now, I need all of you to clean up this mess before Ruby and Penny get back. They're going to have their hands fulls with our new arrivals."

Although a tad reluctant, the children agreed and started attending to the mess they'd created.

Winter turned and followed the woman out of the room, satisfied that they could be left alone now that all the animosity had bled out of Mercury and Adam.

"Hey," Yang said as the door closed behind them. "Thanks for that, you handled it pretty well. You have kids of your own?"

"No," she replied, shrugging slightly. "Just subordinates who act like children at times. I... always considered the possibility of having children of my own but I've yet to find myself a suitable match. What with my military career, I wouldn't want to take the single parent route."

"No kidding? On the being single thing." Lilac eyes quickly roved over her, appreciative in where they lingered. "I find that hard to believe. You don't strike me as the sort to be lacking in... interest."

"Admittedly, I've been something of a workaholic." She quickly tried to remedy the admission of that quality, suddenly finding it less of a strength than usual. "I'm reorganizing my priorities, though. I'm actually here on vacation."

 _That_ earned her a skeptical look. "On vacation and doing an audit for your corporation?"

"I'm... a work in progress?" She offered weakly which earned her a laugh.

"Aren't we all?" The way Yang's eyes shone just then, with mirth- Winter admittedly hadn't seen anything quite as attractive in all her years. "Oh, this whole thing reminded me, I'm not sure how much time Ruby's going to have to talk shop. They're out picking up two new kids but, if you stay for dinner, I'm sure we can find somewhere in the house for you two to sit down and hash things out."

"That's quite amenable." She nodded, clearing her throat. "Until then, I believe there are some cookies that require baking, yes?"

"You would be absolutely correct!" The woman jerked her head towards the kitchen. "C'mon. The kids love when we have company over; if they get to be too much, just let me know."

"I'm a soldier, Miss Xiao Long; I have a higher tolerance for tomfoolery than you might think."

"Call me Yang." A shrug. "After _that_ fiasco, there's no reason to be formal, right?"

"Absolutely." She smiled. "Call me Winter."

She didn't know _what_ she thought might happen on this trip but this certainly didn't factor into her expectations in the slightest. 

And she couldn't be more pleased with that.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally, this was going to be a one shot, but then the characters got away from me. Another silly AU that's something of a throwback to some ye olde fandom tropes that I don't see much anymore.


End file.
